The present invention relates to a slide rail structure of a vehicle. More specifically, the present invention relates to a slide rail structure of a vehicle that can slidably guide a vehicle seat with respect to a vehicle floor.
A conventional slide rail structure is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-112319. The slide rail structure has a rail member for slidably guiding a seat of a vehicle and having a U-shape in cross section. The rail member is mounted on a floor surface of the vehicle. Upper edges of the rail member are respectively bent inward, so that upper bent portions are formed. As a result, a guide groove is formed within the rail member. Further, the upper edges of the rail member are bent such that a clearance is formed between the upper bent portions. Therefore, the guide groove has an upper opening portion that extends in a longitudinal direction thereof. Conversely, a slide member is attached to a lower surface of the seat. The slide member is composed of a leg portion fixed to the seat, and a slider connected to a lower end of the leg portion. The slider slidably engages the guide groove of the rail member, so that the leg portion can move along the upper opening portion of the guide groove. According to this construction, the seat can be moved along the rail member. Further, the upper bent portions may effectively prevent the slider from being released from the rail member.
In addition, a cover member is attached to the rail member. The cover member has a pair of body portions that are respectively disposed on the bent portions, and a pair of cover portions that respectively oppositely extend from the body portions so as to cover the upper opening portion of the guide groove. The cover portions are formed of elastic materials, for example, soft rubber or elastomer, so as to be easily deformed. Therefore, the cover portions that normally cover the upper opening portion are easily spread out by the leg portion when the leg portion moves along the guide groove. Therefore, a sliding motion of the leg portion (the slide member) is not obstructed by the cover portions.
However, in such a slide rail structure, the cover portions of the cover member are easily deformed. Thus, when articles (e.g., a lighter, a pebble, or the like) fall onto the cover portions, the cover portions are deformed downward. As a result, such articles can easily enter into the guide groove from the upper opening portion. The articles that have entered the guide groove may disturb the sliding motion of the slide member.
Thus, there is a need in the art for an improved slide rail structure.